#NotReadyToDie ARC Review

Ginny’s life suddenly comes to a screeching halt one fateful Monday when a shooter shows up at Southwestern High School during first period. In lockdown with both the homeroom sub and her secret crush Owen badly wounded, Ginny finds herself teamed up with Kayla, one of the “barbies.” Together, they must try to keep their classmates alive amid terror and pain. As the chaos continues, Ginny is plagued with questions. Has she judged Kayla too harshly? Will she ever have the chance to ask Own to prom? Will the fight she had with her mom before school been their last interaction ever? With the uncertainty of everyone making it out alive growing with every minute, there’s only one thing Ginny knows for sure: no one is making it out unchanged.

– Goodreads

I don’t know why I love such tragic books. I love true crime. I love disaster books. So when I saw this book on Netgalley, I wanted to read it. It goes through the harrowing hours while a high school in Canada is on lock down due to a school shooting.

It was interesting that this was set in Canada. They have much different laws than we do – which are shown in the book. I know their gun control is much stricter.

The novel is told through the eyes of Ginny. She’s a typical teen girl. She had a blow out fight with her mom before school. Honestly though, what teen girl doesn’t? It normally wouldn’t matter, the fight would be forgotten about by dinner. Only today, it does matter. What if Ginny never gets to see her mom again?

Throughout the story, you are told of teens texting their parents and loved ones. Last ditch efforts to say they love them. You are told of the killer at the door. Will he get in? Teachers are trying everything they can think to save the kids. It’s honestly a haunting novel. My son is 2.5 years old. I can’t imagine him going through this. It’s getting all too common in America. During the story, you are shown parts of Ginny’s past. It was a nice reprieve from the horror that was occurring.

#NotReadyToDie was a quick read. At 200 pages, I could have read it in an afternoon if someone wasn’t so distracting -cough-child-cough-. The novel moved at a nice pace, it never seemed rushed. You got to know all the kids in the class with Ginny – including her crush and a girl she thinks hates her. They both have surprising ends. However, I did have a problem with some of the dialogue. The actions of the teens totally fit, but I felt their conversations were somewhat juvenile.

I do wish the ending gave me a little more. You didn’t find out who the killer was or the motives. As a true crime buff I just HAD to know! I think that was my biggest gripe about the book.

If you are like me and are a fan of true crime/tragedy books, I think #NotReadyToDie is definitely worth picking up!

Have you read #NotReadyToDie? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…